Second Chances

Chapter 28

Carter fought the strangling tightness in his chest as he stared at the small scrap of paper. It was only a quarter of a page – torn and mangled from Trouble chewing on it liberally. But he could see the handwritten word in red ink as clearly as if someone said it aloud – "MURDERER!" There were even several exclamation points after it, lending a sense of urgency and desperation to that "voice."

Carter glanced up at Jon, who was still sleeping peacefully with his back nestled against Casey's pillow. Then he looked back at Trouble, who was barely peeking from beneath the bed. "Trouble!" he hissed. "Come out here!"

Trouble eyed Carter warily. As he scooted farther back under the bed, Carter realized that the dog thought he was going to be punished. "No!" Carter put out a hand to Trouble and managed to smile at the furry scavenger. "Come on out," he urged, patting the floor with his hand playfully. "Come on – I'll play a game with you."

Trouble inched his way towards Carter. When he was within his reach, Carter grabbed the dog by his collar and pulled him towards his lap. "That's a good dog," Carter murmured, rubbing his fur absently. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the scrap of paper. He was drawn to the word in red again and caught his breath when he noticed the large arrow drawn between the handwritten accusation and a name in the text of the article.

{Sonny Corinthos? A murderer? Could it be the same man? It HAS to be – how many other men named Sonny Corinthos could there be in the world? But why does Casey have this folded piece of paper in her closet? Why would SHE think that Sonny is a murderer?} Questions whirled in Carter's brain and he knew the only solution was to find the entire article and get all the details. He gazed deeply into Trouble's eyes and sighed. {If only you could talk......}

Trouble started to wriggle in Carter's grasp, anxious to collect on the promise of playtime. Carter held him as tightly as possible and leaned down to whisper to him. "Where did you find this, Trouble?" He held the scrap of paper up to the dog but then shook his head and swore softly. {What did you expect, Carter? The dog can't exactly answer you.....} He took a deep breath and then decided to try a different tack.

Carter reached for the shoe where the paper had been hidden. "Find more shoes like this one, Trouble. Go find Mommy's shoes." He held the shoe up to Trouble's nose. The dog sniffed at it happily and only hesitated a split second before prancing away, his tail held high in the air. Carter followed as he headed for the walk-in closet. He glanced back towards the bed to make sure that Jon was still sleeping and then went inside, turning on the light.

Trouble was tunneling into a large stack of shoeboxes in the back of the closet by the time Carter arrived on the scene. His head was buried amidst lids and tissue paper. Only his furry rear end was visible as it wiggled with the effort to pull out more "treasure." Carter suppressed a laugh as he watched the little criminal suddenly pop out of the stack and land with a thud on his butt and hind legs. But when he turned to Carter, the dog was proudly holding the matching high heel to the one that held the first scrap of paper.

Carter caught his breath and walked slowly over to the dog. "That's a good dog," he crooned softly. "Now give Daddy the shoe......" Putting his large body between Trouble and the door of the closet, Carter assured himself of victory this time. The dog eyed him cautiously and was about to dart between his legs when Carter reached out and grabbed the shoe from his mouth. Trouble thought it was all a game and pranced around Carter happily. But when Carter put his hand inside the shoe and it came back empty, he didn't share his playmate's joy.

He crouched down next to the pile of shoeboxes. "Where did you find that shoe, Trouble?" Carter pushed aside some boxes as Trouble nudged his way under his arm and sniffed some of the discards. He tried to make it easier for the small dog and when Trouble's tail started wagging, Carter suspected they were getting closer. The dog started to shake all over and his tail was going faster than a broken metronome. When Carter touched one particular box and Trouble yipped softly, he held his breath. He pulled the box out and removed the lid to find several folded papers, the top one mangled and torn.